The LG Twins are seeking their second consecutive win. Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop also set a goal for this season early on. He aimed to win the most games in his team, and for this to happen, it is essential for the team’s key players, including Kim Hyun-soo, Oh Ji-hwan, Park Dong-won and Park Hae-min, to rebound.
LG held the LG Twins’ New Year’s greeting ceremony for 2024 at Jamsil Baseball Stadium on Tuesday, and kicked off the first official schedule of the 2024 season. Kim In-seok, CEO Yeom Kyung-yeop, general manager Cha Myung-seok, coaching staff and the team attended the ceremony.
They exchanged New Year’s greetings and strengthened LG’s determination to become a dynasty this season.
Manager Yeom Kyung-yeop met after the New Year’s greeting ceremony and said, “Overall, we will start 2024 with a solid structure by position and part, so the starting pitcher and bullpen will start the new season with more than 70 percent of the conditions that strong teams must meet, including the center line.” “The closing has not been decided yet as Ko Woo-suk moves to the Major League, but I don’t think he will be behind any other team,” he said. “I think (Yoo) Young-chan will give some finishing touches. Baseball is not going as you think, so Young-chan will have difficulty. You will have to help me and the coaching staff overcome the difficulties.”
Then, he revealed his goal for this season. Earlier, he held a coaching staff workshop for the 2024 season at LG Champions Park after two days and one night on Saturday and Sunday. At the meeting, coach Yeom Kyung-yeop and his coaching staff drew a blueprint for this season. Therefore, they quickly set a goal.
“My first goal is to rank No. 1 in the pennant race. In fact, if I become greedy last year, I could achieve the most wins,” Yeom said with a smile. With nine games remaining, he decided not to become greedy by confirming the No. 1 ranking. He put off the most wins to make up for the Korean Series. This year is his second goal to achieve the most wins that he put off. If he had greed, he could have done it. However, I wanted to do it for a long time. It is not such a good thing to do everything in a year.”
The most wins LG has achieved 88 wins in the 2022 season. It ended with 86 wins in the 2023 season.
“If we advance directly to the Korean Series, another goal is to win the title for the second consecutive time,” Yeom said. “The biggest point of this season is ‘thinking of baseball,'” he said. “My goal is to make four routines distinctly my own through ‘thinking of baseball,'” he said. “This routine is not created in a year. Obviously, there will be players who are making it now, some have just taken their first steps, and others who have made more than 70 percent of the routine. Neither Kim nor Oh Ji-hwan think it is 100 percent. It will be a season when individuals fill 10 to 20 percent of the schedule.”헤라카지노주소
Then, he stressed the development of existing players. Only when the main players develop, younger players will naturally follow and eventually lead to development.
Referring to the names of Kim Hyun-soo, Oh Ji-hwan, Park Dong-won, and Park Hae-min, head coach Yeom said, “It will make Oh Ji-hwan challenge with a target of close to .300 and 20 home runs. Kim Hyun-soo will also aim for 100 RBIs for .32 million, and it is the job of coaches to make Park Dong-won score more than .28 million, more than 30 home runs and 100 RBIs, and Park Hae-min score more than .300.”
Oh Ji-hwan had a batting average of 0.268 with eight home runs and 62 RBIs in the 2023 season, while Kim Hyun-soo had a batting average of 0.293 with six home runs and 88 RBIs. Both players’ batting average, home runs and RBIs have declined compared to the 2022 season.
Park Dong-won had a batting average of 0.249 with 20 homers and 75 RBIs. Still, his performance has risen from the level in 2022. Park’s most recent .300 season was in 2016 with a batting average of 0.300. During the next seven seasons, he only recorded a batting average in the late 20s and failed to hit .300. The closest he came was in 2018 with a batting average of 0.299.
Yeom Kyung-yeop also predicted that not only players’ performance indicators but also the overall team will be stabilized. “As players have a lot of confidence and produced results in offensive baseball, the big framework (of offensive baseball) will not change, but we will go toward increasing efficiency,” Yeom said. “We will reduce attempts to steal, but we will let them surpass 180. While attempts will decrease, the overall number of stolen bases will increase. I guarantee this.”
He continued, “Last year, we had a lot of defensive errors. Moon Bo-kyung and Austin played the biggest roles. The players played full-time for the first time, and they made a lot of mistakes because they spent a year in non-position. There is also a certain player named Shin Min-jae at second base, so he will reduce his errors by more than 30 percent. He will decrease a lot this season. Mistakes in defense, base running, and offense will decrease. In the end, I think we can create five more wins. After all, the key is for a team to reduce its mistakes. We had a lot of experience in detail over the year, and we will definitely be stronger than last year,” he said.
His defense and base running will also be more stable than last year. He had a lot of defensive errors at third and first bases, but both (Moon) Bo-kyung and Austin had never experienced full-time on the spot. He also expects his chance to steal a base will increase further. “I will run less than last year, but my probability has increased, so I am thinking of more than 180 steals, more than last year’s 166 steals. I think I can add up to five more wins,” he said.
The 2024 season is already full in his mind, as he always sets and prepares goals for the new season in detail. He also confirmed the roster of campers and selected candidates who will make a leap forward like last year. While singling out KT as the most threatening team, he predicted that the team would run at the front once again.